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Those interested in a leadership position in Grovetown or Harlem can qualify this week for the November nonpartisan election.

Harlem mayor Bobby Culpepper and Councilmen John Thigpen and Rudolph Dixon are up for re-election on the Nov. 5 ballot.

A Grovetown City Council seat, recently filled by Lee Briggs, who was appointed to fill the five remaining months of former Councilman Sonny McDowell’s term, and a seat being vacated by veteran Councilman Bruce Stoddard also will be on the ballot.

The county has attracted lots of performers to its venues in the next few months.

“We’re trying to get our name out there,” Stacie Adkins, county Community Events manager. “We try to be fair and help (promoters and other event organizers) as much as we can, by every means we can for their event to be successful. ... If they have a good experience, hopefully they’ll come back.”

A judge sentenced three men linked to a fatal 2012 home invasion to prison last week.

Leonard Jamal Walton, 19, of Martinez, Jose Lopez-Gamero, 22, of Evans, and Edward Albert Brown III, 21, of Augusta, were charged with murder, criminal attempt to commit armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

Walton pleaded guilty to burglary and criminal attempt to commit armed robbery at a Thursday sentencing hearing as part of a negotiated plea agreement with the District Attorney’s Office.

At best, Rebecca Starling hoped her first bodybuilding competition would give her some experience for future competitions; she didn’t expect to come home a winner.

“I think it took two days to sink in,” said Starling, a 36-year-old Evans mother of two, who placed first in both her height class as well as the open division of the National Physique Committee USA Coastal competition Saturday, Aug. 17, in Atlanta. She took second place overall.

A book signing and presentation for The Cardinal Nest: Where the Life Cycle Begins will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Harlem Library, 375 N. Louisville St., Harlem. The children's book is written and published by Ted Hood Jr. and Dealia Yancey, the North Harlem Elementary School media specialist. A presentation will include a demonstration of a remote camera, the cardinal nest photographed for and images from the book. For more information, visit www.TheCardinalNest.com or call (707) 556-9795.

For some, the image of a remote tropical isle might immediately spring to mind. For others, it might be a peaceful cabin with a view of a clear mountain lake. Some might want a penthouse view of a bright city skyline. Each to his own.

But for most of us, the “best place” to put down some roots usually involves far more practical concerns – family, jobs, schools, health care and any number of more mundane criteria.

But it is something we all think about. We dream; we plan; we compromise.